Explorer the various facets of Ireland & experience the stunning and varied landscapes of this beautiful Emerald Isle.
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2 Passengers
Explorer the various facets of Ireland & experience the stunning and varied landscapes of this beautiful Emerald Isle.
What's Included
Meet & greet upon arrival
Arrival and departure transfers
3 nights in Dublin at Academy Plaza Hotel or similar
2 nights in Kerry at Randles Court Hotel or similar
1 night in Limerick at George Hotel or similar
2 nights in Galway at Clayton Hotel or similar
1 night in Donegal at Jacksons Hotel or similar
2 nights in Belfast at Europa Hotel or similar
13 meals: 11 breakfasts and 2 dinners
Visit Blarney Castle
Visit Blarney Wooden Mils
Visit Rings of Kerry
Boat ride to Killimer
Visit Cliffs of Moher
Tour of Burren Region
Tour of Galway City
Visit Galway Cathedral
Cruise to Lough Corrib
Visit Kylemore Abbey
Visit Belleek Pottery Factory
Walking tour of the Walled City of Derry
Visit Giants Causeway
Visit the Dark Hedges
Guided tour of Belfast
Visit the Titantic Experience Belfast
Visit Slane Distillery
Orientation tour of Dublin
Visit EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
Services NOT included
Early check-in and/or late check-out at hotels
Expenditure of a personal nature, such as drinks, souvenirs, and laundry, etc.
Optional tours
Tips
Randles Hotel Killarney
The elegant Killarney Randles Hotel is a 5-minute walk from Killarney town center and offers a pool and spa.
Boasting marble bathrooms, the spacious, individually designed guestrooms each include free WiFi, tea/coffee trays, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels and a CD player. Some of the rooms offer partial mountain views.
There is a 66 foot pool, steam room and sauna for guests to relax in, while the Zen Day Spa offers luxurious treatments using Flourish Organic range. Killarney Racecourse and the INEC Conference Center are both one mile away.
With seafood specials, The Conservatory and the Terraced Gardens feature an elaborate menu served throughout summer in the outdoor dining area offering countryside views. Dinner is also possible at the Fermoy Suite and Checkers Restaurant.
Lough Leane and Killarney National Park are both a 5-minute drive from the hotel. There are several golf courses in the area and free parking is available at Killarney Randles Hotel.
Academy Plaza Hotel
Just off O'Connell Street, Academy Plaza Hotel is a 5-minute walk from Connolly Train Station. The hotel features stylish, air-conditioned rooms with free WiFi, an on-site restaurant, a small fitness room and a beauty salon.
The modern bedrooms at the Academy Plaza Hotel are decorated in rich colors. Rooms feature flat-screen TVs, work desks and marble-finished bathrooms.
Plaza Bar & Grill serves traditional dishes using fresh local produce. Plaza Bar and Grill offers a variety of teas and coffees. Guests can enjoy traditional full Irish and continental breakfast in Oscars Restaurant, which is located within the hotel.
The Temple Bar district is a 10-minute walk away and the hotel has a 24-hour reception.
Trinity College and Dublin Castle are within a 10-minute walk. There is an air coach stop at the Academy Plaza.
George Limerick Hotel
The George is a boutique hotel on O’Connell Street in Limerick city center. It has air-conditioned rooms with free internet access, and a restaurant serving Italian cuisine.
Elegant and stylish, each room is decorated in unique browns and greens, while beds feature mahogany headboards and solid wood bedside units with reading lamps. Rooms also offer LCD satellite TV, a cafetiere and specialty teas, and a modern private bathroom.
The George Boutique Hotel is well located for exploring Limerick, and is walking distance from restaurants and shops. King John's Castle is about 0.6 mi away.
Within the hotel, The George Bar is cozy and stylish, and has a wide drinks menu. Each bedroom has Egyptian linens, stylish furniture and LCD TVs. From the 7th floor you can enjoy panoramic views across Limerick.
Clayton Hotel Galway
This contemporary hotel with leisure facilities, free parking and free internet access is opposite the racecourse, close to Galway city. Clayton Hotel Galway is also located close to all major Galway business parks: IDA Galway Business & Technology Park, Parkmore Business Park, Briarhill Business Park and Ballybrit Business Park.
The rooms in the hotel are equipped with a TV, a desk and the private bathroom is fitted with a bath and a hair dryer.
In the evenings, relax in the comfortable Enclosure Bar, which serves drinks and bar snacks. Head to the restaurant to sample fine Galway cuisine.
Clayton Hotel’s leisure center has a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. Service at Clayton Hotel is precise, friendly and of a high standard.
Jackson's Hotel & Leisure Centre
On the banks of the River Finn and Drumboe Woods, Jackson's Hotel is an award-winning hotel featuring an indoor swimming pool, gym, and hot tub. Its spacious, light rooms offer free Wi-Fi.
Airy and bright, each room includes a large private bathroom and a TV. Guests can also make use of a hairdryer and tea and coffee-making facilities in the room.
Garden Restaurant serves an á la carte menu, and features views of the hotel gardens, the River Finn and Drumboe Woods. The traditional Glue Pot Bar serves a wide selection of spirits and liqueurs.
The Leisure Center features a 50 feet indoor heated pool with aqua loungers. Guests can relax in the steam room and sauna or exercise in the modern gym.
Free parking is provided, and Donegal can be reached in a 25-minute drive. The nearby Drumboe Woods have numerous scenic walking trails, which include the ruins of Drumboe Castle.
Europa Hotel
In the heart the center of of Belfast, this 4-star hotel is next to Great Victoria Street Train Station. Guests can enjoy luxurious rooms and dining in the contemporary bistro. Complimentary Wi-Fi is available in all public areas.
Spacious and elegant, The Europa Hotel’s rooms feature modern bathrooms decorated with glass and chrome. Guests can enjoy luxury bedding with designer fabrics from Ralph Lauren, and a flat-screen TV.
The Europa Hotel is on Belfast's Golden Mile, next to the Grand Opera House and facing the Crown Bar, the National Trust's only public house. Castle Court and Victoria Square shopping centers are a 15-minute walk, and Belfast Zoo is a 15-minute drive away.
With magnificent views of Great Victoria Street below, the Piano Bar serves an impressive range of cocktails.
Upon arrival, you will be met by one of our representatives who will transfer you to your hotel. You are free to explore the city at your leisure this afternoon. Your hotel will be within walking distance of the city center.
| Overnight in Dublin
Following breakfast, depart Ireland’s Capital traveling to County Kerry. En route stop in the town of Blarney to visit Blarney Castle. You will find the legendary Stone of Eloquence. Kiss it & you’ll never be lost for words again. Enjoy some time for shopping at Blarney Woollen Mills. It was bought in 1976 by a former worker has been transformed into what is perhaps the largest quality craft shop in Ireland
| Overnight in Kerry
| Breakfast
Today you can enjoy a superb tour of the Iveragh Peninsula where you will discover the Ring of Kerry. Taking in spectacular scenery such as mountains, peat, bogs, lakes, and magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean. Leaving Killarney, you will pass through Killorglin, famous for its Puck Fair, then to Glenbeigh where the cliff road affords panoramic views of the Dingle Peninsula & Dingle Bay. Passing through the peat bogs one arrives at the sea town of Waterville. Continue to Sneem Village, famous for its brightly colored houses, before arriving back in Killarney.
Along the Ring of Kerry, stop at a local farm for a sheepdog demonstration. Your visit starts with an overview of the different breeds of sheep, followed by an introduction to the farmer’s most important tools, his border collies. Next, you will see a superb demonstration of sheepherding as the farmer with his dogs demonstrates how, by working together, he can take a flock of sheep from the mountain top to the sheep pen close to the farmyard.
Optional excursion available at additional cost: Jaunting Car Ride in Killarney National Park | $18 per person
Enjoy transportation of a different kind! A pony and trap (also known as a Jaunting Car) help you discover areas of Killarney National Park that you might not otherwise visit. Relax aboard a jaunting car as your Jarvey [driver] takes you through the magnificent scenery of the National Park.
Dinner is at leisure.
| Overnight in Kerry
| Breakfast
Travel northwards to Tarbert & take a short boat ride across the mouth of the river Shannon to land on Clare’s shore at Killimer. Travel along the coast to the Cliffs of Moher, the most majestic cliffs in Ireland which rise from the Atlantic Ocean. On a clear day, you can admire the Aran Islands & Connemara Mountains. Enjoy a tour of the Burren Region. The Burren is a high plateau of porous limestone situated in Northern Clare. The limestone is bare with no trees growing here or land covering the stone. The Burren is not as deserted as we believe: the cracks allow different types of flowers to grow all year round. The rocks hide many caves such as the Ailwee Caves.
| Overnight in Limerick
| Breakfast
Travel to Galway City & get oriented with this beautiful place which has attracted many musicians & artists. Visit Galway Cathedral, one of the largest & most impressive buildings in Galway built between 1958 & 1965. Next, enjoy a cruise along the Corrib River to Lough Corrib including scones & an Irish coffee. This journey on the Corrib Princess takes passengers along the majestic River Corrib and onto the lake. Visitors will see unsurpassed views of the historic monuments & natural amenities that make this one of the most spectacular waterways in Ireland.
| Overnight in Galway
| Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Today travel through the beautiful Connemara Region filled with lakes, rivers, bogs & mountains.
Visit Kylemore Abbey, built in 1868 by Mitchell Henry, and see its most famous feature the miniature Cathedral. It has been home to the Irish order of Benedictine nuns since 1920.
Next, you will visit a bodhrán maker (traditional Irish drum). Roundstone Music and Crafts are located in a former Franciscan monastery in Roundstone, in the heart of Connemara. It is here that you will find the workshop of Malachy Kearns, better known as Malachy Bodhrán, who is famous for the manufacture of bodhráns, the oldest instruments that accompany traditional Irish music. Malachy makes bodhráns for the world-famous Riverdance troupe and he is currently the only full-time bodhrán maker in Ireland.
| Overnight in Galway
| Breakfast
Today travel to Donegal via County Sligo. See the beautiful scenery which was an inspiration for W.B. Yeats, who is buried at Drumcliffe Churchyard, under loaf-shaped Benbulben Mountain.
Visit the Belleek Pottery Factory & see first-hand how this world-renowned pottery is created. The factory tour allows visitors to see the pottery being removed from its molds, being fired & decorated by the Belleek artists.
Continue to Derry City. Upon arrival meet with your English speaking guide & enjoy a walking tour of the Walled City of Derry. Founded in the 6th century by St. Columba, Derry is the 2nd largest city & port of Northern Ireland. In 1613 the city was selected as a major plantation project, organized by the London livery companies. It was in this year that the walls of Derry were built to protect the town from the Gaelic chieftains in Donegal.
| Overnight in Donegal
| Breakfast
This morning depart Donegal and travel along the Antrim coast to Belfast, visiting the Giants Causeway en route. The Causeway was formed more than 60 million years ago when red-hot lava erupted onto the surface of the earth & was cooled by the sea to form the columns which make up the Giants Causeway. Legend tells a different story however that Finn Mac Cumhaill built the causeway over the sea to Scotland to fight his arch-enemy, Fingal, who had started his path. The two had never met before & when Finn heard the heavy footsteps of Fingal he turned back. Helped by his wife, Finn dressed up as a baby & when Fingal arrived & saw Finn, Fingal assumed the baby’s father would be much bigger. This scared him & he went running home, destroying the causeway behind him.
Next stop at the Dark Hedges. This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. Two centuries later, the trees remain a magnificent sight and have become one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland. The iconic trees have been used as a filming location in HBO’s epic series Game of Thrones®, representing the Kingsroad.
Continue to Belfast and check into your hotel.
| Overnight in Belfast
| Breakfast
Following breakfast, enjoy a guided tour of Belfast City. This is an excellent way to discover Belfast City & will take in the leaning Albert Memorial Clock Tower (Ireland’s answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa) & the Opera House, as well as passing City Hall, the Crown Bar (dating from 1885), Queens University & the Botanic Gardens. Some tours will also visit the Harland & Wolfe Shipyard, where the Titanic was built & launched in 1912. A visit to the Shankill & Falls road will be of interest as it will give the visitor an indication of how life was in Belfast during the troubles. Visit the Titanic Experience. Located in the heart of Belfast, the Titanic Belfast recreates the story of the world’s most famous ship in a new iconic, six-floor building right beside the historic site of the original ship’s construction. Opened to coincide with the centenary, the self-guided tour begins upon entering the buildings giant atrium where visitors are surrounded by the four “ship’s hull” shaped wings which house the Titanic Experience. You will uncover the true story of the Titanic from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900’s through her construction & launch, to her famous maiden voyage & subsequent place in history through nine large galleries full of interactive exhibitions. Highlights include views of the slipways where the Titanic launched & the voyage to the bottom of the sea in the unique Ocean Exploration Centre. Enjoy the afternoon at your leisure in Belfast City.
| Overnight in Belfast
| Breakfast
This morning depart Belfast and travel to Dublin. En-route visit Slane Distillery. There could be no finer setting in which to discover the nature of whiskey than Ireland’s mythical Boyne Valley. Housed within the 250-year-old stables of the iconic Slane Castle Estate, the guided distillery tour uncovers a history like no other. The new state of the art working distillery pays homage to the resilient nature of Ireland’s heritage and the surrounding lands. Take a trip back in time as storytellers guide visitors through the fabric of the Conyngham family tapestry, chapter by chapter, and immerse guests into the wonderful world of whiskey. Discover the ancient art of Irish whiskey making. Explore the whiskey distillery where three different types of Irish whiskey are made: Malt, Grain, and Pot Still. Learn about the process behind the triple casked blend, the craftsmanship that goes into each of the three casks, and the flavors and aromas that each cask contributes to the whiskey’s smooth yet full-bodied character. Complete the interactive, immersive tour with a tutored whiskey tasting that allows one to assess this character for yourself by enjoying a sample of the signature triple casked blend, Slane Irish Whiskey.
Continue to Dublin.
Optional excursion available at additional cost: Evening Entertainment at Taylor’s Three Rock or similar | $68 per person
Visit this lively pub in Rathfarnham, 30 minutes from the city center, for an excellent night of music and dance. A ballad group will regale visitors with ballads both happy and sad and will (after a few pints) have visitors singing along with them. The music is interrupted for a short while to enjoy the best of Irish Dancing, guaranteed to get feet tapping. Visitors will leave with fond memories of a memorable night in a Dublin Pub.
| Overnight in Dublin
| Breakfast
After breakfast, enjoy an orientation tour of the city with your English speaking guide. The North side of the river offers striking monuments such as the GPO (General Post Office) on the city’s main thoroughfare O’Connell Street or the Custom House along the quays, as well as Europe’s largest public park, the Phoenix Park. The south side appears more sophisticated with its vast Georgian Squares, such as Merrion Square, where Oscar Wilde’s House can still be found, its colourful doors along with Grafton Street and its quality shops. This part of the city is also home to the house of Bram Stoker, Trinity College & the Medieval District.
Visit EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. This is a state-of-the-art interactive experience located in the beautiful vaults of the 1820 Custom House Quarter building in Dublin’s Docklands, the original departure point for so many of Ireland’s emigrants. It will inspire and guide you on a journey to discover the stories of Irish emigration around the world, from early times to the modern-day. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at your leisure.
| Overnight in Dublin
| Breakfast
After a final Irish breakfast, you will be transferred to Dublin Airport for your departure flight.
| Breakfast